There she was. Her long claret hair was swinging with the breezy air. Her mature smile was impossibly inevitable for those who were looking at her. As the rosy sunset has become more evident between the high rise buildings, her amber eyes born like a sun in the new dark.

Her name was Sakurauchi Riko, the Otonokizaka's most popular and beautiful girl. Even though she had claimed to be called plain, no one seemed to have thought that.

Today was no different than any other day. Teacher would come and teach, then she went home or socialised. That was her routine, nothing special. But she would've never guessed just one change could alter her whole life completely.

-8-8-

Her classmates' eyes were diverted by an endless energy coming from her new classmate. Whispers seemed to slither like an earworm through the classroom as the orange-haired girl came up with what they would call "uniqueness". That was the first time Riko thought her day was rather hectic. Her cheeks started to gain redness as she made an eye contact with her while her new classmate never wanted to leave her own "stage".

'Weird person,' Riko thought, her hand up to her chin.

"Takami Chika, it's nice to meet you!" she said at last, then she went back where her teacher had said to sit down.

Riko's body felt the excitement scaling up as Takami-san winked at her directly. She trembled in her presence. Even so, she never noticed her eyes betrayed her own thoughts at that moment. Thoughts only deluded her vision, yet her gestures were the truth.

She sat down to Riko's left, and waved her hand for taking Riko's attention. "Hello, It's Chika! I came from Numazu. What is your name?"

'This energy… Oh that crimson eyes, she seems to be dangerous.'

"Ah.., hai Takami-san, my name is Sakura-"

Chika immediately engulfed her hands over Riko's as she interrupted. "It's Chika! Don't be so informal, umm… what was your name again, Sakura?"

Riko's collected persona has broken within seconds, leading Riko to tell her name with a little louder voice. "Riko, Sakurauchi Riko! Not Sakura."

The homeroom teacher turned her behind. "If you'd stop introducing yourself now Sakurauchi-san, we have to turn back to our math topic," she said having displeasure on her face. The girls around Riko giggled and even some of them boggled at how someone like a perfection would be told off.

Riko blushed at her teacher's dissatisfaction. It was the first time she was being scolded. Since she was everyone's favorite girl and now she was a laughing stock?! Oh no, no, no! It was that orange head's fault. She should never talk with her again. Never!

'Weird person,' she thought again.

After the school bell rang, every student spurted out of the class, leaving only two girls alone.

Riko had been thinking about how to fix this mess, she might have to deal with this girl.

''Hey, Riko-chan!'' the orange-head shouted. She was about to come to her side. ''What are you doing? I thought there should be no one here around this hour.'' she was getting closer to Riko.

''I should ask that to you,'' Riko said, lifting her eyebrow. She had made a hasty decision to be precise around her unlike how she behaved around her other classmates.

Chika laughed boisterously, ''Riko-chan, I knew you were a funny person to hang out with,'' as she said with amount of giggling sounds, she grabbed Riko's hand to rush out of the school yard. Without listening to any complaints from the claret haired girl, they came to a park near side to Takami family's traditional inn.

Riko stopped then. ''Wait! What are you doing? I don't even know you that well.'' Riko shrank back, thinking Chika was someone unreliable since she seemed to put fear in hearts by not telling anything until now.

'What if she was a thief?!' Riko thought fearsomely. She had never felt like this. Her heart rang through her ears with any possibilities as to what this girl would do.

Riko startled as Chika's questioning look has grown on her. So Chika chose to speak her mind before her new friend would misunderstand her intentions further.

''You know, it's no good dwelling on your own thoughts,'' the cheerful girl said, her hands conjoined in her back. ''I just wanted to be friends with you. That's all.'' Her mischief disappeared as soon as she sounded more serious in front of the flustered girl.

Riko felt a mere disappointment about herself. How could she think of her like a thief or further? She was just a curious girl who wanted to know people in this city.

'What is this feeling? Regret? I never felt like this before,' Riko thought. Her heartbeat increased as the next word after a long silence between them left from her mouth. ''I-I'm sorry.''

Chika grinned. Before Riko would tell more, she interrupted. ''Hey! I didn't mean you to take it seriously. Since we are friends now, would you like to come to my home?'' she flashed a pure smile while inviting her.

Riko's heart did not seem to be able to handle her pure energy any longer. Also, catching other girl's eyes time to time was enough to make her nervous. Her palms started to sweat in the end. A cracked voice and a snap decision was the result of it.

''Y-yes.''

For the first time Riko replied instinctively, not depending on logic nor intellectualising. For the first time she had thought anything she would do didn't need any layout. Somehow, she felt like a huge burden had suddenly been lifted off her shoulders. For the first time, she couldn't stop her fast heartbeat.

Since they were close to Chika's home now, she invited her inside. Chika's smile never left from her face. ''Come here!''

Riko bewildered of how her new friend's house was bigger than she had expected. When they were heading to Chika's room, both of them were smiling to each other. A blush settled across their cheeks.

For the first time, Riko felt warm and the butterflies in her stomach.

Chika slided the door to one way to other, showing where to sit. ''Here! You just wait. I'll take some snacks.''

Maybe it was the first time she had actually made an amazing friend. Riko was impressed and she was glad too until her joy was cut off by a white ball of fur moving directly at her.

And for the first time, Riko had run through the hallway at the speed of light while Chika was telling her, ''Shiitake is a good dog, Riko-chan. He doesn't bite!''

'Weird person,' she thought, but now her face was wreathed in smiles.

Her colorful and halfway romantic days have begun with a sudden contact and afterwards.

Omake:

''Chika-chan, how do you end it like this?'' Riko said, pouting. She has been reading the fiction Chika had written.

Chika got closer, putting her chin on Riko's head. ''Umm? I think it's pretty well written, and you should know if romance is included, there will be ka-be-don,'' Chika spelt out of the last word as giving an ostentatious wink at her girlfriend.

Riko's quick blush on her face was the proof that she has given permission Chika to continue it after all!